A Republican-backed plan to rewrite Alabama’s law on immunity for police officers advanced Wednesday with opposition from Democrats who said a statewide standard on police policy and training should be part of the law.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved HB202 by Rep. Rex Reynolds, a former Huntsville police chief, with Republican senators supporting it and four Democratic senators opposed.

The “back the blue” bill is one of the crime measures that Gov. Kay Ivey and Republican leaders have touted since the annual legislative session started in February.

It has faced Democratic opposition at each step in the process, including during public hearings in the House and in the Senate.

Four days remain in the legislative session, enough time to pass the bill, but if Wednesday’s meeting was an indication, Democrats will work hard to change the bill or stop the Republican majority from passing it.

Reynolds and other supporters say Alabama’s police immunity law needs to be updated to align with U.S. Supreme Court rulings. They say more protection from civil and criminal prosecution is important at a time when it is hard to recruit and retain law enforcement officers.

Reynolds said the bill would give no immunity to police who violate the constitutional rights of a citizen they encounter, such as in circumstances that require the officer to use physical force, including deadly force.

Sen. Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, proposed an amendment to the bill to require adoption of a statewide policy on police training and procedures.

“The emphasis of this is to make sure there is a written policy that these officers have to go by and we’re not just leaving it out there to figure out what is constitutional,” Singleton said.

Reynolds said there is no state requirement for sheriffs and sworn deputies to be certified by the Alabama Peace Officers Standards & Training Commission (APOST-certified).

Reynolds said he agreed with the idea but opposed adding it to the bill. He said it would be hard for some agencies to meet the requirement.

“I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, senator,” Reynolds said. “I’m saying I’d love for everybody in the state to be under one policy.

“But to get this (amendment) this morning at 8:20, and we just haven’t had time to work on the details.”

Republicans on the committee opposed Singleton’s amendment, and it was voted down. But not before a discussion about the need for a certification requirement that covered all sworn officers.

“We should at least have an amendment to say that every police officer should be APOST trained in the state,” Singleton said. “I can’t see us giving them immunity, and them not being APOST trained.”

“You’re talking about a heavy burden on our counties and our cities,” Reynolds said.

“People are dying,” Singleton said. “That’s a heavy burden on families. In that split second we’re talking about. And then we’re talking about giving them immunity from that loss to that family.

“So we at least need to make sure that everybody is trained properly across the state.”

Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, agreed with Singleton.

“I think if we’re going to give immunity to everybody, then everybody should operate under the same rules, policies, and regulations,” Figures said. “Immunity is a big thing. A big thing.

“And while I appreciate our law enforcement – I’ve stood with them on many pieces of legislation – I do think if we’re going to give immunity, it needs to be very clear.”

Reynolds said there is a clear standard – the U.S. Constitution. He has stressed that the police who violate a person’s constitutional rights will not be protected under the bill.

He said every law enforcement agency should have a policy.

“The consistent language there, no matter where that policy is, is our constitutional law,” Reynolds said.

“And that’s the basis of these policies. They’ve still got to go by the constitution.

“To stand here this morning, with this language, and to force this on all the agencies, whether it be state police, local police, sheriff’s departments, that’s a heavy lift.”

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, who taught constitutional law for 25 years, said the constitutional language in the bill would not protect citizens.

At last week’s public hearing, Smitherman said the bill would be a “green light for Black folks to get killed.” He did not back off that on Wednesday.

“The constitution does not protect citizens from the actions of the police officer itself,” Smitherman said. “It does not lay out the steps the officers ought to do – A, B, C, D.”

Wednesday’s approval by the committee puts the bill in position for consideration by the Senate as early as next Tuesday.

Smitherman said he hopes the bill can still be amended to include a standard training requirement.

“Even if it passes, the implementation should be tied to this training, whatever time it takes to get these folks trained,” Smitherman said.

“We’ve got to make sure that they’ve got a set standard of what they can be measured by. Right now we don’t have a set standard.

“If it’s one life, one life, that trumps everything else that we’re talking about.”